458. The present flag of Brazil was largely inherited from the extinct empire. It consists of a green field, twice as long as wide, on which a diamond-shaped figure is inscribed in yellow. The green represents the vegetable kingdom and the yellow the mineral. The blue circle within the yellow diamond, studded with stars, is a representation of the heavens at Rio, when the constellation of the Southern Cross is at the meridian. The words stamped in the course of the terrestrial orbit mean "Order and Progress."

459. The President's flag of Brazil consists of a blue field, with the national coat-of-arms in the center. The large five-pointed star typifying the unity and territorial integrity of the nation is bisected in such a manner that one of the halves of each point is green and the other yellow, symbolizing respectively the vegetable and mineral wealth of the country. The blue circular band inscribed within the star contains twenty-one small silver stars, reminders of the twenty States of the Brazilian Union and the neutral city of Rio de Janeiro. The five large stars in the center of the coat-ofarms represent the constellation of the Southern Cross. The entire shield is upheld by a vertical sword, in the center of whose hilt on a red field is set a star. The shield is encircled by two branches of coffee and tobacco plants as emblems of the country's agricultural wealth, while the straight golden rays, radiating in all directions outward and upward beyond the shield, denote the rising of the sun-that is, the glorious future and destiny of Brazil. Inscribed below are the words "Estados Unidos do Brazil" (the United States of Brazil) and the date of the establishment of the republic, November 15, 1889.

460. October 18, 1917, will be the centennial of the Chilian flag. October 18, 1817, Gen. Bernardo O'Higgins, the supreme dictator of Chile, decreed its adoption. It consists of a field, the lower half of which is red and the upper white, with a blue canton in the upper left-hand corner occupied by a large fivepointed silver star.

461. The banner of the President of Chile consists of the national ensign with the coatof-arms of the country thereon. The condor and guemul supporting the shield represent the strongest and most majestic bird of the Chilian Andes and the most peculiarly Chilian quadruped. The tuft of three feathers which crowns the shield was formerly used as a special mark of distinction on the hat of the President of the Republic, as a representation of the supreme executive dignity of the nation. In the old days of wooden ships the sailor who first succeeded in boarding a warship of the enemy and came out of the action alive was rewarded by being crowned with naval diadem of gold. Copies of this crown appear on the head of the condor and the guemul. The inscription on the coat-of-arms means "By Right or Might."

462. Colombia inherited its flag and coatof-arms from the Republic of New Granada, of which it is the successor. Following the death of Simon Bolivar, the Colombian Union, set up by him, which consisted of the present republics of Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia,

and Panama, ceased to exist, and New Granada, one of the succeeding States, adopted what is now the coat-of-arms and the flag of Colombia. The upper half of this flag is yellow, the lower half divided between light blue and bright red, the red strip being at the bottom. On the ensign is embroidered the national coatof-arms.

463. The merchant flag of Colombia is a replica of the national ensign, except that instead of the coat-of-arms there appears a bright red oval surrounding a small field of blue, upon which is imposed an eight-pointed

star.

464. Colombia's coat-of-arms consists of a shield divided into three horizontal sections, the upper section displaying upon a field of blue a golden pomegranate tinged with red, with the leaves and stem of the same color. On each side of the pomegranate is an inclined golden cornucopia, the one on the right pouring out toward the center gold coins and the one on the left overflowing with the fruits of the tropics. The middle section of the shield is platinum colored and bears a red liberty cap supported upon a lance. The lower section represents a silvery-waved ocean, divided by the Isthmus of Panama, with fullrigged ship in both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. The shield is supported by four national banners. The crest shows the condor of the Andes with extended wings, from its beak hanging a laurel wreath to which is attached a streamer bearing the inscription, in Latin, in black letters, "Liberty and Order." 465. For a description of the coat-of-arms of Chile, see 461.

466. Costa Rica's flag is made up of five stripes, blue at the top and bottom, red in the center, and white between the red and blue. The red stripe is double width. The national coat-of-arms, in diameter equal to the red stripe, is placed in the center of the field.

467. The merchant flag of Costa Rica is a duplicate of the ensign except that the coatof-arms is left off.

468. As revised by the decree of 1906, the coat-of-arms of Costa Rica represents three volcanoes and an extensive valley between two oceans, with a merchant ship sailing on each of them. On the extreme left of the line that marks the horizon is a rising sun. On the upper part of the field are two myrtle palms, half covered and joined by a white ribbon which contains the following inscription in gold letters: "Republica de Costa Rica." The field between the peaks of the volcanoes and the myrtle palms contains five stars of equal size arranged in an arc. The crest of the shield is a blue ribbon interlaced in the shape of a crown and bearing in silver letters the inscription, "America Central."

469. The quarantine flag of Cuba is yellow, with a black anchor and Greek cross superimposed upon the center.

470. The Cuban patriotically calls his national flag "La Estrella Solitaria,' or "The Lone Star." This banner became the official emblem of Cuba on the 20th of May, 1902. It consists of a field with three blue and two white horizontal stripes, with a solitary star set in the center of a red equilateral triangle

imposed upon the staff end of the field. The "lone star" is taken from the banner of the old Republic of Texas, the equilateral triangle from Masonic symbolism.

471. The flag of the Secretary of the Navy of Cuba has a blue ground and an anchor in white in the center.

472. The national coat-of-arms of Cuba was adopted during the revolutionary period of the republic's history. It has the form of an ogive shield and is divided into three sections, two of which are in the lower two-thirds of the shield. In the left half of the lower two-thirds are three blue and two white stripes of the Cuban flag. In the right half is depicted a characteristic landscape of rural Cuba. The upper third of the shield shows a sea with two rocky capes, between which is a golden key closing the strait thus formed, signifying that Cuba, with her fine geographical position, is the key to the Gulf of Mexico. The golden disk of the sun, rising out of the waves of the sea and shedding its rays in all directions, represents Cuba, redeemed by the blood of martyrs and heroes, with a bright and glorious future before her. The shield is supported by fasces surmounted by a crimson liberty cap on which appears a five-pointed star. Two intertwined branches, the one of evergreen oak and the other of laurel, denoting respectively enduring strength and vitality and victory, encircle the right and left sides of the shield.

473. The flag of the Captain of the fleet of Cuba is a blue triangular pennant with an anchor in white imposed on it.

474. When the people of the eastern part of the island of Haiti threw off the yoke of the Haitian Government and established the Dominican Republic, they designed a flag which consists of a field crossed in both directions with white. The upper quarter next the flagstaff and the lower quarter at the free end are blue, while the lower quarter next the staff and the upper quarter at the free end are red. In the national ensign the coat-of-arms of the Dominican Republic appears on the white cross.

475. The merchant flag of the Dominican Republic is like the national ensign except that the coat-of-arms is omitted.

476. On the shield of the coat-of-arms of. the Dominican Republic appear the Cross, the Bible, and the colors of the country. Below floats a streamer with the inscription, "Dios, Patria, Libertad"-"God, Country, Liberty.' These words were the secret password of "La Trinitaria," the patriotic society which inaugurated the revolution that resulted in the freedom of the republic.

477. The admiral's flag of the Dominican Republic is like the national ensign (474) except that the outward third of the fly is swallow-tailed.

478. Under a legislative decree entered in 1900 the national flag of Ecuador is the old Venezuelan flag of 1811. The only difference between it and the Colombian flag (462) is that the Ecuadorean coat-of-arms appears instead of the Colombian. The law provides that the flag raised over the national buildings, warships, fortresses, and those hoisted by the diplomatic and consular agents of the republic

in foreign countries, shall bear the coat-ofarms of the nation in the center on the yellow and blue stripes.

479. The Ecuadorean law of 1900 provides that the flag used by individuals and merchant shipping shall be the national colors without any insignia. The flags flown over municipal buildings have, under that law, a circle of white stars on the blue stripe, of a number equal to that of the provinces which compose the republic.

480. The coat-of-arms of Ecuador consists of an oval shield, supported by the colors of the republic, in the upper part of which is a representation of the sun, with that part of the zodiac in which are found the signs corresponding to the months of March, April, May, and June. At the left of the shield is a representation of Mount Chimborazo, washed by a river on which floats a steamship. The shield rests on consular fasces, the emblem of republican dignity, and is crowned by a condor with outstretched wings.

481. The commanding officer's pennant of the Dominican Republic is triangular, with the representation of the national colors still preserved.

482. The present national flag of Guatemala is one which was provided under a decree of 1871, restoring the colors fixed by the National Assembly in 1823. It consists of three vertical stripes of equal dimensions, blue and white, the latter in the center. The national ensign bears the coat-of-arms of the country on the white stripe.

483. The merchant flag of Guatemala is like the national ensign except that the coatof-arms is omitted.

484. The National Congress of Honduras in 1866 made the flag of the republic that of the old Central American Federation-two blue stripes and one white stripe between, placed horizontally, and in addition a group of five stars, five-pointed, in the center of the white field. In the national ensign these stars are replaced by the coat-of-arms and regrouped so as to form a curved row of five stars below the escutcheon.

485. The Honduras merchant flag, which the law says is the national flag, as distinguished from the war flag, has the five stars so grouped in the center of the white stripe as to form an "X."

486. The coat-of-arms of the Republic of Haiti was established under the constitution of 1843. It consists of a palm surmounted by the cap of Liberty and ornamented with a trophy of arms, with the motto, "L'Union fait la force" (In union there is strength). When President Soulouque established himself as Emperor Faustin I, he modified the coat-ofarms, but it was restored in 1861 and has since remained unchanged.

487. Guatemala's coat-of-arms dates from 1871. It consists of a shield with two rifles and two swords of gold entwined by laurel branches. On the scroll are the words “Libertad, 15 de Setiembre de 1821" (Liberty, 15th of September, 1821). Above the scroll is a quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala, corresponding to the American eagle. It is said that this bird never survives captivity, even when